Beyond the End
by PlayerPrincessJediFANGIRL
Summary: AU. When Agatha returns to the School for Good and Evil, she's unsure what to expect from her Fourth Year. With her story over, there's nothing to worry about. Toss in some alchemy, new stories and discoveries that their world is just one of many and 'The End' isn't the end anymore. WIP
1. Return

**A/N: Hello everyone! Did everything enjoy their summers? I had a great one, to be honest. And I'm so excited for Book 4. I think it'll take about 4 months for it to arrive at the local bookstores as I don't live in America and so it'll take a bit longer for the books to be shipped to where I live.**

 ** _I don't think it takes that long. I live in Canada and it only takes a while for new books to arrive._**

 **You know nothing, Artmateur.**

 **Anyway, welcome to the new collaborative- and first out of hopefully many- fic of PlayerPrincessJediFANGIRL, starrystarrysteph and princessartmateur (wow, two fake princesses writing together!). We've been buddies for a couple of years and we all share similar interests, and that's how the story was born.**

 ** _Wait, we're buddies?_**

 **Yes, we are. Now let me finish, okay?**

 **If you like this, leave a review. If you don't-**

 ** _Flames will be used for roasting marshmallows._**

 **Don't interrupt!**

 ** _What? I'm hungry. Serious people are never fun. Lighten up!_**

 **At any rate, bear with us, and on with the tale!**

 ** _Yay! Don't forget to tell us what you think!_**

 **(Chapter co-written by Player and Princess, and beta'd by camilledicaramello. TLEA-friendly, not compatible to the Ever Never Handbook. Post-war, Fourth Year.)**

Agatha wasn't sure what to expect from her Fourth Year as she once again entered the doors of the School for Good. She was overwhelmed with nostalgia and a good sense of realization that she, among one other, had already received her Ever After, and that she would be the only one person in the class to receive so before Fourth Year.

Tedros had not wanted to come back to the School for Good. He'd been determined to rebuild his kingdom despite their lack of Good studies completion, and driven by anger and misery at the state of the fallen Camelot, he'd turned down Dean Dovey's offer.

"I helped kill the greatest Evil of our time," he'd scoffed, as Sophie gave a cry of indignant objection. "Do I still need to learn how to fence with beginners?" Agatha had supported his ambition but chose to complete her last Year. She'd lost so much in, and for, the war- Callis, who by blood was not her parent, but would stay her mother always; Cinderella, her kind albeit rough mentor who'd died embracing her sisters; Lady Lesso, who'd risked her life through Good and Evil, Boys and Girls, Old and New for balance, and had saved her and Sophie's life millions of times. She'd, and the other Evers, missed a whole year of Good education, while the Nevers had only trained for Evil combat and not practical spells or talents. Last year had took a lot from all of them.

The odd sense of familiarity grew stronger as Agatha stepped into the large hall, its walls brandishing murals and the letters E-V-E-R, reminding students that nothing about their loyalty has changed, that they were still Good regardless of the last year where they were Nevers in the School for New. Seeing the elaborate designs on the wall made Agatha tear up just a bit. The first time she'd seen them, she'd mocked the pure angels, the friendly Princesses, the brave hunters for believing in a cause that wasn't real. But they were, and Agatha was part of their world, even though she still did stick out of the crowd a little.

The bold red 'Tonight' Sophie had scribbled on the letters had disappeared, along with any reminder of Evelyn Sader's reign. Blue flags were burnt and butterflies exterminated, gender inequality erased once and for all. Professor Dovey promised a gender-neutral new schedule where Boys also beautify and Girls join in swordfights and gym, as did Sophie, whose new school was over-the-top and bearing multiple Sophie-ish touches like clubs and makeup stations and walk-in wardrobes. Evil had been made new and it had never looked so… good. Agatha would have to congratulate the new dean of Evil later.

"Agatha!" someone hollered from across the hall. Chaddick, Tedros' best mate whom Agatha had got along fine with, waved. They'd spent a few weeks together, helping Tedros chase wolves out of a town in Camelot.

"Hey, Chaddick." Agatha wasn't especially fond of seeing Beatrix, the girl who'd made her life a living hell back in First Year. Beatrix did teach her fellow students how to defend themselves in secret after all. She'd be civil. "Hello, Beatrix."

"Agatha." Except for a little scar along her cheek, Beatrix looked the same, with wavy golden tresses on her head, a layered, pearly pink dress that clung to every curve. However she no longer stared at Agatha with the haughty, I'm-the-best expression. Her eyes lightly sparkled gratitude and respect, and she wasn't hovering over Agatha. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise." Maybe saving Good and rebalancing Pure and Wicked had earned her a few stars in Beatrix's book. "Well, I'll see you in class, won't I?"

"You will," Beatrix smiled. Agatha wasn't certain if she was dreaming or not. Beatrix never smiled genuinely at Agatha. Tooth-flashing, fake smiles? Definitely. But a sincere one? Never.

 _The war's changed everyone,_ Agatha thought as she waved goodbye to Chaddick and Beatrix and headed for Purity Tower. Shrinking back a little as she passed fellow Evers pointing at and whispering about her, she soon reached her very first dorm room.

Purity 51 seemed to have never been altered. Pink walls, large window, even the lack of mirror (she'd given it to Sophie in her first year). This room had once survived Dean Sader and the School Master's rule, and the colors had probably been made over before the war ended (blue for the School for Girls and black for the School for New, presumably), but now it looked almost the same as it was when Agatha first came to the School for Good. A wave of nostalgia hit Agatha- when was the last time I've been here?- she was a pink-hating, messy-haired weirdo when she first entered this very room. Now she was this Good heroine who went through trials and tribulations and fought against and with her best friend multiple times, her best friend and worst enemy, who was a witch. Definitely different.

Her books and schedule was sitting neatly in a pile on her desk. A little bit of surprise overcame her when her eyes stopped at the new subjects. Chivalry. Defense Against Evil. Alchemy. And so on.

 _Alchemy?_ Agatha frowned. Not once had she heard anyone use this term, and it had never been a subject in the School for Good and Evil. _Probably something including walking around and hauling hammers. Like gym, maybe. Or it might be something involving magic, and spells… we did miss out at least 2 years of proper magic education, after all…_ Thanks to Dean Sader and the School Master, there wasn't any proper Good education. The former Dean of the School for Girls only taught defensive incantations to get rid of boys, and the School Master taught Dark Magic. Those were definitely not from a Good child's syllabus. Perhaps Professor Dovey wanted them to learn the, as she would say, 'proper way of wielding Good's magic', and not the 'dark, wicked side of spells, dedicated to serving malicious witchcraft and sorcery'.

Or maybe her first guess was right and Agatha would have to chuck balls and engage in a fist-to-fist battle, then graduate a muscular princess and live her sad short life (or long. Sports enhance health and longevity, she was told) doing push-ups with Tedros.

Not a happy thought. Well, excluding the Tedros bit.

At any rate, she didn't know what to expect. And familiar place, with the identical decor and people, but with brand new challenges, notably changed faces and shifted attitudes. Good or bad, she'd have to face it anyway. At least the threat of Evil Domination was over, and she could stop being afraid of death, or Good's destruction.

The dove fluttered endlessly in her heart. In anticipation or nervousness, she didn't know. All she knew was her story was over, hooray, and hopefully, she wouldn't be involved in the new one.

Because what good could turn out from another war, or another crazy tale?


	2. Captains

**A/N:** ** _Hi! It's me, Mickey Mouse!_**

 **Artmateur! Focus!**

 **Sorry, Readers. Apparently someone thought it'd be fun to fool around.**

 ** _I do_** **not**

 **Right, right. Hello readers, and welcome to Beyond the End, the literal child of me, Artmateur and Player. (Because it was almost** ** _painful_** **writing this.)**

 ** _This chapter is written by me and starrystarrysteph (Player's on one of her Writer's Breaks, Official Solution To Writer's Block. She says her new project's driving her crazy.)_**

 ** _Artmateur!_**

 ** _Oops. I spilt the beans, didn't I?_**

 **You definitely did! Readers, Player is** ** _indeed_** **writing something. I think it's a one-shot. So watch out for the incoming fics she launches!**

 **Review if you have the time, and again, flames are for the s'mores.**

 ** _BTW, Player doesn't like s'mores. So don't_** **s'more,** ** _i.e. flame._**

 **Actually, she likes s'mores. But please don't piss her off, she's really scary.**

 **At the end of the fic is news from Player- don't miss it!**

 **(Chapter co-written by starrystarrysteph and Princessartmateur, beta'd by camilledicaramello, and completely disapproved by Player.)**

The next day, Agatha woke with a bird pecking her eyelids furiously, ironically similar to how

a hungry child would gobble his snacks.

"Ah! I'm up! I'm up!" she yelped, shielding her reddening eyelids from the Little Big Monstrosity that came in the form of a snow-white dove. "Stop it!"

The dove chirped at her, almost as if it were laughing at her expense.

It held out one of its legs and Agatha found a piece of note tied to the bird's limb with a chartreuse ribbon. Gently pulling the note out, she unscrolled it, revealing Dean Dovey's neat cursive:

 _Dear Agatha,_

 _Please meet me and Dean Sophie in my office after breakfast._

 _-Professor Dovey._

Well. First day here and she'd already gotten into trouble.

At least Sophie would be there.

Agatha laced her new clumps (the old ones were on display in the Gallery of Good) and slipped on the pink taffeta gown Sophie had made all Evergirls wear. _At least it's not_ frillyThe last one had been all lace and no comfort.

Sophie had made, Agatha noted dryly as she looked out of the window, a lot of changes for Evil. No, wrong word. Not even _a lot_ could cover it. It was as if Sophie burnt the old School for Evil down and rebuilt a new castle atop the ashes.

At least these changes didn't include a dead Agatha and the destruction of Good. Remembering the meeting with Dovey and a delicious breakfast waiting for her downstairs, she slipped out of the room and followed the crowd of girls heading for the dining hall.

Déjà vu, indeed.

Agatha had been walking in a circle before she decided to knock on the door to Professor Dovey's office.

"Enter," Dovey called. Agatha pushed the magically unlocked door with uncertainty, nervousness brimming by the minute. What did Dovey require of her? Hopefully, not a mission or a quest. She'd had enough of yelling and getting thrown by enchanted briars and being almost executed. However, before she could even mumble an awkward 'hello', a flurry of purple silk with arms and a mass of golden hair wrapped her in a massive hug.

"Aggie, darling! _Finally_ you've decided to come. And oh, the dress looks so unexpectedly _good_ on you! My taste really is exquisite, don't you think? The pink brings out the lack of pink in your cheeks. I mean, how pale you are. But other than that, I've missed you much-"

"Dean Sophie," Dovey interrupted. "Do let go of the poor girl. You're suffocating her."

With a brilliant smile Sophie released a barely-breathing Agatha. Her best friend stepped back and sat on one of Dovey's armchairs. Professor Dovey, her fairy godmother, was sitting behind her table, smiling welcomingly. Leaning against the desk was Hester, nonchalantly staring at her, but her eyes sparkled and suggested otherwise.

"Please take a seat, Agatha," the old professor offered, and Agatha did so. "Now that we are all here, let us start the meeting. As you might know, before the events of Boys and Girls, and of Old and New, Sophie and Agatha were top of their class, Hester coming close in second. The two of you," she pointed at Sophie and Agatha, "were supposedly the Class Captains of Good and Evil respectively. However, the foolish mistake of your behalf caused a rift between the schools, thus you were not properly Class Captains. Our old diadems were destroyed by the School Master," (Sophie noticeably winced) "But it is a fresh start. Sophie, since you are not a student, Hester has the honor of taking your place as Captain. And so, Hester and Agatha, you are the Class Captains of the year."

Dovey's smiled brightened as she took out a box. "I present to you, the new Class Captain diadems."

"I designed the one for Evil," Sophie put in proudly.

All eyes were on the smooth oak box as Dovey unlocked it with a snap and lifted the cover away. Lying on the red velvet pillow were two crowns, one made of a dark metal and the other crystal. The darker one was embedded with blood-red rubies and a short, tiny metal chain held a scarlet crystal that dangled from the side.

"These rubies are from Ravensbow, thought you'd like it," Sophie told Hester as she laid the diadem on the dark-haired witch's head. The crystal fell onto Hester's forehead, falling almost between her eyes, which were wide with awe. "Presenting our new Evil Class Captain with the scary demon tattoo."

Agatha gave a loud snort while Hester sent a small glare at Sophie.

"And our new Good Class Captain," Dovey said, placing the Evers' diadem on Agatha's sleep-trussed hair. The crystal gleamed a beautiful shade of every color as rays of sunlight hit the tiara. Like Hester's, Agatha's diadem had a gem hanging on the front, but hers was a diamond and held by a chain of smaller diamonds. It was quite similar to her queen's diadem, which she decided to leave at Camelot, for the sake of being equal to her fellow students (and that she might lose it and make Tedros do his nut).

"Well, let's not be distracted by the shiny crowns now, even though it's really pretty. We have _business_ to attend to," Sophie broke the silence, and the two new Class Captains, who were admiring their new diadems, turned their attention back to the Deans.

"I am sure both of you know of the War, and the impact and aftereffects," Dovey began, her tone serious. "Both sides have sacrificed so much to retain the balance between Good and Evil. This year is unlike any other years. Not only it is Fourth Year- the year of graduation- it is also a brand new beginning for many of you. For instance, some of our students are… dead. Some of their relatives were killed by zombie villains as revenge. Many stories now have the _wrong_ endings.

"It is not in my power to restore them, nor can I bring the dead back to the world of the living. It is selfish, it is unnatural… it disrupts the peace between Good and Evil." Her last comment, Agatha assumed, was an extremely bitter jab at the deceased School Master. "However, we need to be united, even when the threat no longer exists. Such thing has been impossible for centuries, but Sophie and Agatha have proved otherwise. Neither can survive without each other, and no matter how we despise each other, we are not enemies. We depend on each other. Both sides have to trust each other and learn that if one side is gone, so is balance. This is where you two come in. This year, we will be promoting inter-school unity, and we would like your help."

Sophie nodded. "Plan balls, activities, hold said activities, start friendly competitions, debate, friendly brawl, fashion show, whatever- that's your job. Of course, you could always ask me for help when planning our fabulous activities and events, since both of you are obviously incompetent. Hester, you should know better than anyone of us Nevers- except me- that Good and Evil need each other, blah blah blah, and Aggie, you're the saint around here, so no one's gonna doubt you. Just try to twist the old enmity around and _voila_!"

Professor Dovey gave Sophie a wan smile. "I would not use the words you've chosen, but yes. You two are the best nominees for Captains, and coincidentally are some of the best students of your age. You can also follow Dean Sophie's suggestion on inter-house balls and competitions, and bring the enmity to an end. The School Master is dead, and so shall any prejudice and rivalry. There is a thin line between love and hate, and in my experience I've learnt that sometimes your best friend might be on the opposite side of the war, to your surprise. We do not expect you to truly bring the two sides together, but please try to make them hate each other less, and at least be able to stand each other. We know the old prejudice runs deep in some of you," Hester nodded grimly at that, "and many grew up to loath the other side. However, again, we must learn to co-exist. One day, we hope the next generation understands that to. The war cannot, and shall not, repeat itself, if I have a say in this matter. And this starts with us, Hester, Agatha. Let them finally understand, though I am sure many do after the war. Bring the sides together."

There was a long pause before Hester spoke up. "We Nevers in a _ball_? You already made us suffer once- that time in First Year where you destroyed everything and left us to clear your witch mess- and the Boy-Girl thing- is that not enough for you?"

Sophie grinned so widely Agatha thought it was somewhat scary. "Oh, _yes_. It's going to be _epic_."

 **A/N: News from Player-**

 **Hello guys! How was chapter 2? So much dialogue, and stress for our new Captains… anyway, I'm here to deliver some news- I've been (in my Batcave) writing a series of (unfortunate events) fics Chris named the 'Real, Or Really Real Series' (see the Hunger Games reference?). It starts with a prequel ficlet (** ** _Reader_** **), then the main story (** ** _Real Life- SGE_** **), and ends with** ** _The Letters From Every Story_** **(tbc). So watch out, they might be posted anytime!**

 **Thank you for all your continued support! We at Player Enterprises love you!**

 **Also, happy 38th birthday, Hermione Granger!**


	3. Lessons

**A/N: We've gotten rid of Mickey Mouse this chapter.**

 **Yep. You bet.**

 **Now we're gonna be serious.**

 **Ahhh… that's right…**

 **You sound uncertain.**

 **Because I am. I mean, I'm thrilled, and I have a story right here. I can tell you that amazing tale of mine right here, right now. So. Do you want to hear how I-**

 **No.**

 **-totally died during the Grizzly Gulch ride-**

 **NO.**

 **-when I went to Hong Kong Disneyland the other day?**

 **No, thanks, Player.**

 **What about that time on the Forbidden Journey ride in Osaka, and then I saw Hermione and then I saw _Draco Malfoy_ and I was like, _Oh my gosh, it's-_**

 **I WILL GAG YOU.**

 **(Chapter written by PlayerPrincessJediFANGIRL and starrystarrysteph, beta'd by camilledicaramello. We almost let princessartmateur write this too, but we decided not to. It was a very wise decision.)** Instead of being chastised for trouble, which would not have been surprising for her, seeing how that happened frequently during her First and Second Years, she was now tasked with a large job consisting phrases like 'bring both sides together' and 'balls' and 'old prejudice'. That was new. The biggest thing she'd done with her life was probably 'not get killed', with 'becoming queen' in close second. Now that the war had ended, Agatha did agree with the fact someone did need to unite both sides for once and for all. But she did not expect to be that someone. Come to think of that, she hadn't expected to return, either.

By the time she was dismissed, Beautification was over (Agatha wanted to sigh in relief) and Royal Manners, the brand-new replacement for the rather gender-unequal subjects Princess Etiquette and Chivalry, was halfway finished. Luckily for her, Professor Dovey had sent a note to Pollux explaining Agatha's tardiness, so he didn't bite her head off for being late.

Because of the unequal number between boys and girls (Tedros had dropped out for good reason, and the tragic deaths of Nicholas and Tristan had caused another tip on the scale), Agatha was paired with Kiko, to both girls' happiness. Kiko filled Agatha up with the latest gossip as Pollux taught poise and grace, and Agatha told Kiko how things were going for her. Kiko had took a shining to her Captain's diadem, which attracted not only Kiko but all the Evers' attention. Self-conscious under so many pairs of gazes, Agatha was mildly comforted when class was over.

The life-threatening risk (to her, mostly) of being turned into a wolf for punishment for failure was gone and erased from the rule book, but none of the Evers had let their guard down. They were all still fiercely competitive, though Agatha could see the friendliness between challenges and glares. The Evers had spent a whole year as Nevers, and the suffering had brought every one of them together. Agatha felt slight remorse over causing all of them to fall into the School Master's cruelty, since it was honestly her, Tedros, and Sophie's fault, but if she hadn't, it seemed this special bond between all of them wouldn't have existed in the dark world.

Princess Uma resumed her role as the Animal Communication professor, after 2 years of being on the run. Her role as a League member was largely appreciated by both the Evers and Nevers, and the Evergirls looked euphoric to see their famous and brave professor once again.

Uma waved at Agatha when they arrived at the lake, where they had their lessons. It was weird to see Uma in her pink teacher's gown again, after practically living with the princess who wore ninja clothes for months. Agatha waved back.

"Hello again, class," Uma addressed the students. She seemed a little unsure of what to do, probably shocked at having boys in her class for the first time, or because she hadn't been teaching for a couple of years. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Professor," they echoed back.

"Well," Uma started hesitantly. "Let's start our class. And today, we'll be introducing one of the most famous animals of all time- considered a myth, even- the unicorn."

As Uma babbled away about unicorns, confidence returning full-force once she was in her comfort zone, Agatha fiddled with her diadem, which was sloping off her head in the most annoying way. She wondered if Hester was worried about the stress of being Captain. The witch, Agatha mused, was probably at ease as she grew up commanding her henchmen left and right. But bringing sides to unity seemed much harder than being bossy.

"Unicorns, in Alchemy and folklore, which I believe some of you will be taking," Uma stroked the unicorn's mane. "Represents 'one'. In runic scripture- which I don't know, but some of you will- unicorns are portrayed as a symbol for number one for its singular horn. Now, I want you all to line up and slowly stroke the unicorn's snout, to see if it likes you. A hint- they prefer a woman's touch, so don't be aggressive."

The Evers formed a straight line and each one of them took turns caressing the unicorn's snowy white snout. The unicorn was indeed more fond of the girls, whining softly when they petted it. The unicorn stood taller and tilted its head upwards whenever a boy approached, intimidating and majestic.

When it was Agatha's turn the unicorn seed extremely happy to see her, whether that was because it could smell her Goodness or the sugar that stuck on her hand from a sugar donut back at breakfast. It very nearly pressed its nose onto her hand and neighed.

"Oh, Agatha, it likes you," Kiko said once Agatha had left the unicorn, which whined noisily and seemed very unhappy about the arrangement. "It's so cute, don't you think? Wish I had one," she said wistfully.

Agatha wanted to point out the unicorn was probably sexist and was a whiny brat, but she didn't voice it. If she did, Kiko would probably never speak to her again.

Professor Dovey had chose not to continue as the Good Deeds professor. ("To busy clearing up the war mess," she'd explained and sent a pointed look towards Agatha.) Instead, she had found Professor Glinda, the Good Witch of Oz, a good friend of Dovey's, to take over the class. The students were stunned by the arrival of yet another famous fairy tale star (the first two being Uma and Dovey, the Fairy Godmother herself) and Glinda proved to be a competent teacher herself, telling hilarious jokes like Why did the Oz cross the road? and How many Munchkins does it take to change a candle? (Four- one to extinguish the light, one to act as the ladder, one to climb onto the first light the candle, and one to point out that they could've just used magic.) throughout the lesson. She liked to laugh and wave her hands dramatically around. That was surely a change from Dovey, but the new professor seemed amiable and approachable enough.

While Dovey was strict and fair, Glinda was bubbly and their class was very active. Whereas Dovey would sit them down for quizzes, Glinda sort the class into 4 groups and let them run to the blackboard to write their group's answer. Whoever was fastest and most accurate won. At the end of the class Agatha's group (her, Tarquin, Kiko and Oliver) came second, losing only to Beatrix's group, which was by all means a talented group. The one mark Agatha's group had lost, though, was gained by Chaddick, a swift runner in Beatrix's team.

Perspiration beaded her forehead after so much running, but Agatha was smiling too much to care. It had been a delightful lesson, to say the least.

Defense Against Evil was not as defensive as she thought it would be.

Professor Espada, the former Swordplay Professor, sneered a little when he saw girls trooping into the room. "Girls," he said. "Let's see how good you are at the master art of battle."

"We're not going to battle," Beatrix put in bluntly (Agatha admired her bravery). "The textbook says we'll learn a few spells and handle some easier weapons, but not battle."

The professor was stunned into silence- even more so when clever Beatrix showed him how competent she was at the Fireball Spell, and Kiko the Acid Jinx. The Evers took turns performing their best spells for this lesson, and when it was Agatha's turn, she turned a quiver of flying arrows into daisies, while Kiko helped her with the shooting part (after the war Kiko had started taking archery lessons, as the last time she'd done that on a stymph in a war, she'd killed a zombie and it was 'exhilarating').

"Well, I must say, I'm rather impressed," Professor Espada finally said at the end of class. "We'll be learning advanced spells starting tomorrow, so prepare yourselves for difficult challenges ahead."

He swept from the room, and from the corner of her eye, Agatha could see Beatrix high-fiving Reena.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly swiftly. Agatha was mildly disappointed that Alchemy was scheduled only on Wednesdays (with more classes, the timetable was entirely different, with different classes at different times slots one every day of the week, instead of the same timetable every day), because from what she'd gathered during Uma's class, Alchemy seemed intriguing and very, very challenging. It had something to do with runes… numbers… and unicorns. Definitely not gym, then, Agatha decided. Thank goodness for that.

Her first day was a lot of fun, albeit the disappointment of not having Alchemy class. Yuba the Gnome, one of her most helpful mentors, had also returned and resumed teaching. He proudly showed his Forest Group his new house, built near the Blue Forest and his former house, which was burnt to a crisp.

"Old Dovey funded the furniture," he'd said. "Dwarf furniture costs twice as much as your typical furniture, you know."

There was also lunch, where Sophie had opted to eat with her, instead of taking lunch in the Dean's office.

"We've got greens in every meal now," Sophie'd bragged loudly as she delicately bit on lettuce. "And cucumbers are served in every meal."

Agatha'd tried not to laugh when she saw Hester spit out her vegetables with a loud "Gack!" and complain to Anadil and Dot, as Sophie chattered all about the goodness of greens.

The Halfway Bridge connecting the two schools was rebuilt, and only people with permission could cross it. Professor Dovey had given Agatha and Hester the privilege, as they needed to patrol both schools as Captains.

Agatha met Hester at the doors of the School for Evil. Hester pushed the two large doors, and Agatha was once again in the hall where she had been lots of times- mostly to find Sophie, that one time where she had to sneak into the School for Old to retrieve Excalibur.

"This way." Hester's finger lit up with a light spell, and they started to head down the hall.

As Sophie had told her, the School had been redecorate. The vandalised portraits of past Nevers were replaced with new ones in black frames. Agatha could see Hester smirk when they passed the portrait of the Witch of Gingerbread House, with a delicately decorated frame and a plaque underneath, proclaiming 'Gertrude of Foxwood- Proud Mother of Hester of Ravensbow'.

"That's really nice of Sophie," Agatha commented. "I'm sure your mother would've been proud of you."

"Agreed," Hester replied dryly. "I'm twice the witch she is, or rather, was. Prejudiced against Good, even though she had excellent reasons to loathe you pink-dress princesses. That's why I agreed to be Captain. To prove her wrong. Balance and all that."

"You are a very brilliant witch," Agatha said honestly.

"Thank you," Hester shrugged, though she looked pleased.

They finished patrolling the lower floors when Hester suggested they not go up to the dorms.

"Rendezvous going up there," Hester explained. "Sophie threw Mona a birthday party. The Dark Fairy was one of the greatest gatecrashers of us Nevers, but I don't think they'd approve of a party-crasher, especially not you. You've done enough crashing already during our first No Ball."

"Alright, then," Agatha decided. "Ready to go to Good?"

They crossed the bridge and entered the School for Good, where Hester complained about the bright colors. "The year we were stuck in this school was enough torture," Hester grouched, referring to their Second Year. "All those sparkly bling jewels and crystals blinded me."

"I used to think that in my First Year," Agatha confessed. "All that glitter. Horrible. And do you know how many mirrors are there on just the ground floor? A hundred. You can only imagine how narcissistic the designer was."

Hester chuckled at her friend as they continued their patrol.

 **A/N: I swear, the Alchemy will come along soon enough- just one or two more chapters!**

 **Book 4 is finally out. My friend and our beta Cami pre-ordered the signed copy and was so thrilled to get her hands on it.**

 **Remember, next chapter coming soon- and keep your eyes open for the release of SGE- Real Life! (The prequel, Reader- just like the Star Wars prequels- comes after the original story.)**

 **Player Enterprises send you lots of love and gratitude. Thank you for reading this!**


	4. First

**_A/N: Do you know what day it is?_** ** _(No response) Is it really that important-_**

 ** _Yes it is. It's Player's NAME DAY._**

 ** _Artmateur, in modern times and in Canada, we call it 'birthday', as 'name day' is from Westeros and Westeros is fictional._**

 ** _What are you- Wikipedia?_**

 ** _Why me-pedia, more like._**

 **(Chapter written by PrincessArtmateur and starrystarrysteph, beta'd by camilledicaramello. Aw guys, you know the drill.)**

Agatha only needed two days to realize how much Good had changed, too.

For starters, Professor Dovey summoned Agatha, Beatrix and Chaddick during Royal Manners for a meeting, where Dovey announced that the second- and third-highest ranked students would become prefect and assist the Class Captain. They would also have to patrol on weekends. Beatrix and Chaddick certainly looked happy enough about the arrangement.

Then there was Hansel's Haven, which was demolished during the war. They had rebuilt the classrooms and added a brand new classroom for Good Deeds, which Professor Dovey named the Popsicle Room. It was made of its namesake, popsicles, and bore a striking resemblance to Lady Lesso's old frozen classroom. Agatha thought it was a touching tribute to honor the late Dean of Evil, even though it was extremely cold inside and she had to cast a warming charm every half an hour.

With Good Deeds taking place in the new classroom, Alchemy took over the sugarplum classroom. As soon as Good Deeds ended, Agatha hopped up, eager to know about the mystery that was 'alchemy'. She'd been puzzling over it for two days, and still didn't have the answer.

When she entered through the pumpkin candy doors she was shocked to see Professor Dovey sitting at her old sugarplum desk with a woman whose back was turned, so Agatha couldn't see her face. Dovey gave her a smile and gestured for her to sit, as her classmates started to fill into the classroom, which only contained eight student's chairs, eight desks, the large sugarplum desk, two chairs up front, a blackboard, and a large gingerbread cupboard that took up most of the room.

"Welcome to Alchemy," Professor Dovey stood and addressed the class. "As you can see, we only have eight students in our class, and only the highest-ranked eight."

Agatha swiveled around to meet the equally confused gazes of Beatrix, Chaddick, Reena, Tarquin, Giselle, Oliver and Ava. They all looked blankly back at her.

"It is a great honor to be chosen as one of the selected few. However, before we start, I will have to remind you all- Alchemy is a dangerous, difficult subject. It is a combination of runes- ancient languages, arithmetic- the advanced form of mathematics, and potion-making, or chemistry. We will be discussing complex and challenging issues related to science, which I'm sure most of you do not know of. This course is approved by the Council of Advanced Research- don't look so surprised, they are the founders of modern potions and runic discovery!- and they have generously provided us with equipment. This subject might be hard, but this is the only chance you will approach alchemy, unless your ambition is to be a Council member or a professional."

Agatha was sure no one was that ambitious.

"With permission and acceptable reasons you are indeed allowed to drop this subject, but now is not the time. Therefore let me introduce my new co-teacher, Professor Houndhunt. She was not present at the Welcoming, so… please give her a warm welcome."

"My mother told me about her once," Agatha could hear Beatrix whisper to Reena. "She was once the best and first friend of Beauty- because she was descended from merely a Sidekick hunter and Beauty herself was a Reader- they bonded really quickly."

"So she's like… Kiko to Agatha?" (Agatha chose not to acknowledge that, as it was true and interrupting the class was definitely not a smart thing to do, so she bit back the adage of the pot calling the kettle black… or was it the kettle calling the pot black?)

"Basically."

Professor Houndhunt turned away from the blackboard, and stood. Gasps rose from the class. Professor Houndhunt had a muscular, towering figure, and her face was slightly misshapen with a jagged scar running from her forehead to her cheek. Her hair were strands of thin blond strings, drooping down past her shoulders, as if she never bothered to cut it off, and even if she did, she did a lousy job of that. She was wearing the standard professors' gown, but it was a very dark charcoal grey, almost black in fact, with a burgundy satin sash on her waist as a belt. The dress was plain and dark with a wine red underskirt that matched the belt and it was devoid of any frills and lace... Overall, she looked more like a Never professor than an Ever.

Professor Houndhunt stared back at the class, and to some people it might seem like the towering, ugly Giant of the beanstalk looking down its huge nose at tiny little Jacks.

Dovey, sensing tension between her colleague and her students, broke the silence. "Artoma, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Professor Houndhunt's voice was a cross between a grunt and a drawl- weirdly smooth but incredibly deep. "I am Professor Houndhunt, a graduate from the School for Good, and Field Researcher for the Council." She said everything so matter-of-factly, she sounded bored.

"Professor Houndhunt and I will be teaching you Alchemy this year. Now, listen carefully- Alchemy is a dangerous, possibly harming, and unpredictable subject. You eight are chosen for this class as I believe you have enough self-control and safety awareness, and of course high rankings, therefore intelligent and elites. The Nevers, too, will be taking Alchemy, but they will be solely taught by Professor Houndhunt. Sometimes you might join the Nevers as partners, or to exchange knowledge." (That probably was one of the ways Dovey hoped that can help us bond, Agatha thought.) "Without further ado, let us begin- take out your textbooks and we'll begin by testing you on your knowledge of Ancient Scripture. Please take out a piece of parchment and write down your name and we will begin."

 **XXXXX**

Agatha was fairly certain she'd failed the Runes test, as she knew nothing of the sort. She wasn't the only one who was utterly failed.

"I've failed the quiz, I just know it," Giselle moaned, face buried in her hands.

"I've failed it too, I'm sure," Ava sighed gloomily. I didn't have any idea what they were asking- what's a rune, by the way- except for the question about the unicorn, the one in the 'Number Significance' section, but that's only because Uma told us the answer in her class."

"I hope I haven't, though," Tarquin said nervously. "I've never even heard of half of the words in the quiz."

"Eighty percent for me," Oliver grumbled.

Their two Alchemy professors were correcting their quizzes at her front of the classroom, Dovey occasionally sighing to herself, and Houndhunt making loud scratching noises with her quill.

They finished marking their papers after minutes, and Agatha, as expected, received a parchment drenched in red ink (with a torn bit, probably made by the sharp end of a quill). Grumbles and disappointed exhales rose from her classmates, and Agatha knew their papers' fate was the same as hers.

"We do not blame you for not having the answers," Dovey smiled grimly. "It is no surprise that you, with no study of Ancient Scripture prior, can not fully understand the questions. Professor Houndhunt and I will teach you all about that right now, as basics. Please take out a piece of parchment and copy notes."

Houndhunt had already written 'Ancient Runes' on the board, her handwriting a scratchy, untidy scrawl. Agatha started to write, pen posed over the parchment after she had finished taking notes.

"Seeing all of you have answered the question about unicorns correctly, let us begin with creatures and significance. The unicorn has one horn, and it symbols the number 'one'- as you all know, from your results. Some creatures' unique features gives them the significance of a number, but that does not mean the rabbit, which has four legs, represents number four, nor does the human, with two feet, mean 'two'. Like the unicorn, these animals are rare and have special, extraordinary aspects or characteristics that make them worthy of being a number's symbol. Please turn to page 10 of your textbooks and read page 10 to 15, and tell me what these animals stand for."

XXXXX

The fairy tale world was full of odd, fascinating (and the not-so fascinating) animals. Stymphs, for one. Unicorns. Man-wolves. Fairies. Nymphs, dragons, ugly bird-eating cats with a tendency to scratch their owners, scare humans and not rats, eat birds, hiss at everything in sight and be a spy for Good without their owners realizing until some war broke out.

And then there was the Logbitter, the Tweetums, the Lakehunters, the Asphodelian bird…

Of course, not all of them were significant, so Agatha didn't bother to recognize and read about them.

There was, though, a elephant-like creature with five large legs and five huge feet (it was number five), a nine-headed Hydra ('nine'), and a fox with seven tails ('seven', as expected). Agatha had, obviously, never seen such creatures in Gavaldon- there weren't even bears or wolves, let alone giant monsters- and this all fascinated her. She drank the knowledge up greedily- there was so much she didn't know.

Not that she would learn everything in this crazy world. Back in Gavaldon, all was normal and calm and peaceful. There was no magic, no spells, no funny-looking animals that could talk or walk. Ever since she charged out of the borders of Gavaldon trying to 'save' Sophie from the School Master, she'd stepped into an entirely different world of witchcraft and royalty and charms and potions. And it was an endless, infinite world, with undiscovered kingdoms and hidden worlds. It was intriguing, it was strange, it was full of secrets and the unexplored.

From the start, Agatha had been lured into a trap of knowledge and wonders that didn't oblige even when she asked it to let her go, and it was, she thought, a rather wonderful place to be in, despite all she'd went through.

It was a magical world nonetheless.

 **A/N from Player: This is not compatible to Ever Never Handbook, but Beauty was really from Gavaldon according to ENH. She is also ranked a Leader and my favorite Disney Princess along with Merida. (Ha.)** **Also, since none of us are actual Masters of Mythology, forgive us if we got some facts wrong. We tried to relate the alchemy in this fic to ancient alchemy, which if you are familiar with, was faulty and illogical, and it was a combination of Ancient scriptures, mythology, Science, and mostly chemistry. In fact, Alchemy is the father of modern Chemistry. (PM me if you want to geek out together!)** **Leave a review… and everyone at Player Enterprises will give you an internet hug. Literally. (Though it's not really an attractive deal, is it?)**

 **A/N from Artmateur: Be a nice person and give Player a review that compensates for a birthday card, will ya? It's not everyday you have a birthday review. ;)**


	5. Planning

**A/N:** _ **Player Player Player Player Player**_

 **Yeah?**

 _ **Look at the number of reviews and follows and favs we've got!**_

 **Yes, I am aware.**

 _ **I want to give all of them a hug.**_

 **Art, you know what? Express your gratitude in a more calm and collected way, will you? In other words:** _ **Don't do it!**_

 **(Chapter written by PlayerPrincessJediFANGIRL, who helped you restrain her co-writer, princessartmateur, who wants to strangle you with her big mighty bone-crushing hugs**

 _ **No I do not crush bones when I hug**_

 **and beta'd by the fantabulouseriffic, not to mention extremely patient and kind camilledicaramello.)**

The prefects and captains were called to a meeting by a smiling Sophie (with a smile that can only be described as 'nefarious' by onlookers and 'charming and charismatic' by Sophie), who sat then all down in the large meeting room in her private quarters- the School Master's tower, where she had spent almost a year living in prior to the new school year, and had been thoroughly redecorated- and gave out proposals for various balls and activities she had planned.

"First order of business!" Sophie chirped. "The Planning of Required Events Throughout The Year. Also known as the PRETTY. Pretty. Get it? We'll have a Back-To-School Ball in November, then the annual Snow Ball, and a New Year Celebration, a Valentine's Day Dance, and perhaps we could celebrate Easter and April's Fools-"

"What in the Woods is that?" Chaddick yelled.

"For me to know and you to find out!" Sophie replied crossly.

"It's a Gavaldon festival where you prank people and make a fool of them, hence the name," Agatha said quickly.

"Thank you! Back on track: A party on May Day, or we could have a Summer Bash, and a Masquerade Ball in late October- that'd be so amazing, everyone in costumes, in masks… the air will be positively _reeking_ of mystery and is that _romance_ I smell? Anyway, it would be absolutely _wonderful_ ," Sophie ranted enthusiastically. "In between we'll hold… the Circus."

"It's tradition." Beatrix pointed out. "We have that every year."

"Yes, yes, I am aware and not dumb," Sophie said hastily. "The Circus, and maybe a fair of some sort, a few fashion shows-"

"Where? On dining hall tables? And knowing you- with petals and diamonds and crystal chandeliers?" Anadil snorted, obviously displeased and against the idea.

Sophie seemed oblivious to Anadil's protest. "Well, we'll have to build a catwalk in the hall, but that's beside the point. We'll also hold the Trial by Tale- yes, I know it's tradition, Beatrix- one in winter, before the Circus, one in summer, in early June maybe, and a fall Trial, right before graduation."

"Great. If that's all, I'm out. Oh, and I object to everything Sophie has said. Thank you and case closed." Hester announced, rising.

"Stop! Don't you leave! We're _not_ finished!" Sophie shrieked in a high-pitched voice, causing the others to cover their ears and Hester to unwillingly sit back on her chair, grumbling to herself. "And let's not forget the celebratory activities of the War Anniversary, and obviously _my_ \- well, and Aggie's- birthdays-"

"Who are you, the Queen?" Beatrix shot.

" _Obviously,_ you dolt! I am the Queen of Woods Beyond, of Evil, of the School-"

"The School Master's _dead_." Anadil pointed out.

"So? I want to keep my title regardless of him being alive or dead. Anyway, here's a rule I think should be added into the rulebook, though it seems a little biased towards the Evergirls: On Wednesdays we wear _pink_."

"Pass," Hester grumbled. "Certainly _not._ "

The meeting followed the flow of Enthusiastic Sophie, Grouchy Hester (and the occasional comments from the other prefects, Ever and Never both) and All Of Sophie's Ideas Being Shot Down. Hester had good reason to object, though- Sophie's ideas were wild, unrestrained, horrible, and very much impossible.

Fashion shows where all students had to attend? Definitely not. Extra music classes taught by Sophie? Her best friend _did_ have a sweet voice- but Agatha just couldn't imagine herself singing.

"So! Snow Ball!" Sophie continued, as if the quarrels had never happened and everything she'd planned in advance had not been objected. "The theme is ice, as always, and we'll freeze the Ever lake- who wants to skate on the Never sludge, I mean, it's horrid and disgusting and don't you think it smells gross? Oh, that reminds me, we have to get rid of the sludge and change it to clear, crystalline water, so both school's moats match- back to the subject, we'll make ice sculptures and put them around the hall, and we'll gather some white and blue flowers from the Blue Forest for decoration, and from what I heard, Anadil, you're good at ice spells-"

"Yes," Anadil replied, slightly smug.

"Then you're in charge of making ice mistletoes and wreaths!"

Anadil paled, if that was even possible, with dismay.

"Thank you! So, we'll also make an icicle chandelier- requires hard work, that one- and lots of snow-themed goodies- Hester, might you ask Dot if she can lend a hand? We'll need white chocolate," Sophie sniffed at the word, as if white chocolate had personally offended her, "a lot of it. _Galore._ And we'll bake lemon meringue pies and raspberry tarts with white chocolate on top, and the highlight of the night- a vanilla cake with white icing and dozens of iced flowers and mini statues. Can you do that, Hester?"

"Sure," Hester drawled. "Just don't get us involved in the baking. I _will_ poison you."

"I'll like to see you try! Anyway, are we all in agreement that this is our final plan?"

"It sounds like a wedding…" Agatha said, which made Sophie groan: "It's _not_ a wedding, Aggie- it's a _ball_!"

"Will this be too expensive?" Ravan wondered.

"No." Sophie said sharply. "My plannings never run out of the budget."

Suddenly, much to her (and the rest of the table's) surprise, Hester lazily raised her hand and drawled, "There's not need to cut anything. The plans are good enough."

The room went silent as Sophie dropped her quill, gasped, picked up her quill, and then let out an ear-splitting shriek. " _WHAT?!"_

Hester flicked her glowing fingertip slowly, like one Evergirl might check her newly manicured nails. "You heard me."

"I'm sorry, but no, I didn't. I thought I was hallucinating."

"You're not."

"But- _why_?"

"What? Should I take back my affirmative?"

"No- of course not- that chandelier's going to be _fantastique,_ by the way- but why?"

"To remind us of how cold it was without the sun last year, thanks to you. You're saying everything will be cold and icy?"

Sophie dropped not only her quill but her entire stack of papers. The rest of the prefects gaped at Hester.

"Oh, it's a _tribute,_ not sass, for God's sake! Ice to remind us of Lady Lesso! Her classroom was made of _ice,_ she was good at making _ice_ flowers, and during the years when she studied Nature Magic, she was an expert in _ice_ magic," Hester said exasperatedly. "Didn't you listen to Houndhunt during Alchemy? When she was young she studied under Lesso, remember?"

"No," Beatrix said. "She didn't tell us."

"Because you Evers are goody-two-shoes and tend to gossip. When Lesso first became Dean she started and taught a study group- Nature Magic- and she taught anyone who she thought and was deemed competent, Ever and Never. Houndhunt had been one of her students- then an accident happened, she didn't say what, and the study group went."

"Go on," Chaddick said, as fascinated as Beatrix and Agatha.

"Sorry, Pretty Boy, but story time's over. Why don't you go ask old Houndhunt herself if you would like to pry so much? I'm sure she would appreciate that." Hester snapped.

Agatha could've sworn both Beatrix and Chaddick were stifling identical groans. Of course they didn't want to question the scary Alchemy professor just to quench their curiosity.

Agatha wouldn't, either.

 **XXXXX**

History (minus the 'Heroism' bit- " _Equality, Agatha. Equality. We Nevers are heroes too but you don't see us flashing that 'heroism' bling_ ," Sophie had insisted, " _and since we need to be united, our_ names _for our common subjects have to do too."_ Secretly Agatha thought it didn't really make sense at all.) was one of the subjects to be taken only two periods, both on the last day of the week, a week. The students were seated in the former History of Heroism classroom, with new desks and chairs, but the same exterior.

The surprise came in the form of the professor.

A man in dark robes swept into the room and shut the door with a flick of his hand. His hair was slicked back and when he turned to look at his class, both he and his students gasped.

" _Agatha?_ " Hort- _Professor_ Hort, Agatha reprimanded herself- yelped. "You're back for Fourth Year? I thought- Prince Prettyface isn't here, is he?"

" _Hort?_ " Agatha said in shock, at the same time. "You're- you're the new professor? Sophie didn't tell me- she didn't say anything about-"

The Evers were watching the exchange with intrigue, but Agatha could care less. Her wartime ally (and, she secretly thought, her best friend and sister's possible love interest) had returned, appearing entirely too different from the first time Agatha'd laid eyes on the 'Old' Hort- small skinny, and according to Sophie, 'weasel-like', with a prominent and important position in the school.

Ever since the Wish Fish incident (not the first one, where she'd first discovered her talent that led to an animal stampede and a large fire and her establishment of hate for Tedros- the time during the war, when they were seeking refuge in Guinevere and Lancelot's farm), Agatha'd found herself unconsciously warming up to the Never. He was smart, determined and brave, for one- and his unwavering support (and unrequited love, she guessed, though she didn't like meddling in other people's affairs and business) for Sophie was admirable. Also, he'd saved Sophie and Tedros from his zombie father, regardless of how much he disliked Tedros. That was selfless and courageous of him, to rescue his admirer's (former) crush from his own father.

"Well, in any case," Hort cleared his throat and gestured to the board. "Welcome to History." Letters immediately began to form on the board, spelling out "History of The Eight Stones".

"We will begin where you left off at First Year," Hort began. "And we'll start with the Aurum Stone. To most people the Aurum Stone was but a mere legend, but some did not agree. Thus, they started the search for the ancient stone."

Hort drew a picture of a stone on the board and pointed at it. "For it was legend that this stone could turn lead into gold, and suffering into joy. It is named the Aurum Stone for its golden sheen, and for its light- when one approaches the stone, if it deems the person worthy, that person would possess the stone's powers, until the day he or she dies."

"They have the powers of the stone but they can't use it for themselves? For instance… they can't make themselves happy?" someone called out.

Hort shook his head. "No. You see, its powers can only be used _for_ another person. If the stone has the power of turning things into gold, why doesn't it turns itself to gold?"

"Does the stone ever run out of powers?" another person inquired.

"Also, no. It is a _core_ , a foundation, of magic itself. Just like a wand's core, or in our case, our emotions and thoughts, the stone's magic comes within itself. It can never run out, as it is a _source,_ and not an extension.

"The Aurum Stone represents Sunday and the Sun. It was based on legends and laws of alchemy, and as one of the most powerful stones, its existence has been denied for centuries, as did the Philosopher's Stone, a weapon that shares similar properties.

"The other seven stones include the Argentum Stone, the Cuprum Stone, the Ferrum Stone, the Plumbum, the Hydragyrum, the Stannum and the Philosopher's Stone, but it is the Philosopher's Stone and the Aurum Stone that are the most popular, as the Philosopher's Stone is the most powerful, and the Aurum Stone the most wanted, for its power of emotional influence."

Agatha had been taking notes and wondering what language Hort had been using.

"On Page 67 of your books you will find the story of how people attempted to find the Aurum Stone. Your homework this week will be an essay on whether or not should people continue searching for these stones, with references to the textbook's stories. Eight inches of parchment. If there are no questions, class dismissed."

As she passed Hort, who was gathering his notes and books, on the way out, she whispered, "You're a great teacher."

Hort snorted. "Tell _that_ to Sophie."

 **A/N: Apparently these girls have** _ **not**_ **been taken by the School Master. It's a pity.**

 **Sorry this came late. Two of our writers are halfway through their exams, and one has only returned from her field trip. Therefore, we apologize for the delay. We really** _ **are**_ **sorry.**

 **On the good note, SGE-Real Life will be here on the 22nd of November. It's pretty different from the other stories I've written, so I'm quite nervous about its release. Anyway, I hope you guys can pop over and check it out if you're interested. Thanks!**

 **Deleted scene-**

 **This continues after the last sentence. We didn't want to drag the story on, so we decided to cut it. However, our beta thought it should stay, so here it is:**

"She'd believe me. She hired you for a reason, didn't she?"

There was a tinge of red in the professor's cheeks. "Well… yes… but only because there aren't any volunteers. Anyway, it's not as if she notices me or anything."

"She does."

"Ha, ha, very funny, princess. Now, is it true me and your Prince are best friends?"

"Trust me. During the summer, she mentioned you in one of our letters."

" _Really?_ " Hort sounded genuinely interested.

"Yes. I know I'm not one for romantic advice, but… give her time. She'll come around."

"So… you're saying I should wait?"

"Well… technically, I guess so."

Hort just smiled sadly at her. "I've waited four years for her. I guess a thousand more wouldn't hurt."


	6. Insight

**A/N: It's December already? Wow. That means Star Wars!**

 **I have no idea why I'm so excited right now. I just am. :)**

 **(Chapter written by PPJF and beta'd by blevros, my amazing friend who stepped in for our super duper beta camilledicaramello, who's taking her exams- as are the absent princessartmateur and starrystarrysteph.)**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine.**

The School for Evil had the aura of an ancient, haunted castle which had just gone through renewal and redecoration and had been turned into some party girl's haven. It was creepy with the endless, winding hallways and tall windows, and girly with hot pink floating lanterns that hung above everyone's heads, colorful stained glass windows of pictures of past villains in their glory (the Evil Queen poisoning Snow White with the apple, the Dark Fairy laughing as the tip of Briar Rose's finger touched the needle of the spinning wheel, a large basilisk devouring helpless victims, among others) and scenes from The Tale of Sophie and Agatha (mostly of Sophie), and fluffy hot pink carpets.

"Sophie," Agatha asked in horror as they entered the castle. "What happened?"

What used to be the entrance of the Doom Room was now covered in garish neon lights, and there was a real, live crog snoring near the doors. The dark-colored castle was covered in blinding, colorful Christmas lights (although it was nowhere near Christmastime) that screamed "We are cooler than you because we have sparkly lights and you don't". Or "We are cooler than you because we have the worse Dean who ruined our scary school with lights and new carpets and hygiene and hot pink and we can't do anything about it because our Dean is scarily mean. Oh, and we also have sparkly lights and you don't".

"Oh, just some decorations to brighten up the school," Sophie shrugged. "Now, Agatha. You're my best friend and sister so I know you'd have some taste- sadly, not in boys- but now's not the time to appreciate what I've done for Evil. It's time for housekeeping."

"Housekeeping?" Agatha replied dumbly. "What do I have to do with housekeeping?"

"You're Class Captain."

"Shouldn't you be discussing housekeeping with Professor Dovey instead?"

Sophie waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, I have, but I thought you'd give me an insider view on what's wrong with Good."

"Why don't you ask someone else?"

"Because you're my friend and friends are supposed to help each other out."

"You're only asking me because you don't have friends in Good." Agatha accused.

"Oh, alright, Princess. I don't have friends. Happy now?" Sophie snapped. "So? How good is Good?"

"Good is good."

"Ugh," Sophie groaned in frustration. "I'm here to help you poor Evers!"

"By giving us makeovers? No, thanks."

Agatha's grin widened when she glanced at Sophie, who was sulking in silence at her inability to get any information out of her friend.

Agatha knew Sophie was really trying to rebuild Evil from the ashes by giving them a new look and kicking away the 'ugly and creepy' stereotype, but it really wasn't necessary for Good. Good had better reputation- they were beloved by the people in the Woods, especially after their victory over the wicked School Master- and popularity over the last 200 years. Evil was another story. They used to be respected as much as the Evers- but Rafal had killed his brother, and the Nevers had suffered until there was no faith in them. Even the Nevers thought they were destined to fail. But Agatha knew Sophie was determined to bring respect back to Evil, or as Sophie liked to say, 'retain its former glory'.

And knowing Sophie, she was bound to drag the Evers into the rebuilding mess as well.

"Well, some of them are still not over about the fact you guys killed their family members," Agatha began, remembering how furious her classmate Carmen was when her grandmother, Rose-Red, and her great aunt, Snow-White, were murdered. "There's a lot of them who are still upset."

"But we didn't kill them, the zombies did," Sophie complained sulkily.

"You didn't stop them," Agatha mentioned dryly.

Sophie grumbled something under her breath and said, "Evers upset about granny and daddy and mommy dying and all that. Moving on."

"Your school makes ours seem traditional in comparison. You've got a new club and a whole new wardrobe and- is that a rotating room?"

Sophie swiveled around and saw the blueprint tacked on the wall. "Oh, that's the new rotating dining hall. 360view of the expansive school grounds and the Endless Woods!"

"Sophie, a new dining hall?"

"What? Jealous?" Sophie said smugly. "It's designed by Rena Rotunda- you know, or you don't know- the architect of the Everwood Architectural Society, and I understand if you're upset that your school doesn't get a cool makeover like mine."

"No," Agatha defended. "Professor Dovey values tradition and heritage more than anything."

"Of course she does, she's so old-"

"Hey-"

"-and old women just don't have good taste, don't they- oh, Aggie, come on, you know it's true. Don't you think this year's uniforms are better?"

"That's just because they don't have frills and lace and that compulsory pink flower in your hair that smells like perfume and makes you feel like retching-"

"That means my designs are better," Sophie grinned. "The old ones are all spark and no flame. Mine is both spark and flame. I've also introduced flats to the school, so all you Evergirls don't have to prance about in heels. Very considerate."

"I thought you liked heels."

"Yes, of course I like heels, but sometimes they just get stuck to things so easily, no?" Sophie said. Agatha smiled at the memory of Sophie when they were in the School for Girls, where the sole of Sophie's glass heel had got stuck during their Ingertroll test. Sophie frowned. "What? It's not like you like heels. And you're not wearing them anyway."

"I'm not. I'm already in a pink dress. You can't expect me to wear pink shoes too."

"Those clumps are absolutely horrid."

Agatha snorted. Sophie's eye for beauty sometimes grated on her nerves.

"They're comfy and good to walk in."

Sophie huffed in frustration. "Fine. Back to housekeeping."

"There should be a rule against pranking."

Sophie paused for a moment, and said decisively, "No."

"Why not- you Nevers are forever putting lice in our bedsheets and flooding our rooms- just like you did in First Year-"

Sophie shrugged. "My First Year was a great example to all Nevers that you can do the most scandalous things and not get caught red-handed."

"That really isn't fair," Agatha protested.

"Well, time to upgrade your defenses, then."

Agatha scowled slightly as Sophie scribbled on her parchment, Evers need better defense.

"Now. Onto the rules. Opinions?"

"That instead of asking me you could've just asked Dovey. Also, I don't understand why I'm here when you're obviously not listening to a word I say," Agatha said.

"Fine, no severe pranking and killing off each other, no forcing everyone to eat veggies and live Sophie- get it? My name's an adjective, which means me, and everything concerning me, of course- no stealing other people's princes-"

"Hey!"

"-don't look at me- you stole my prince first- but I'm happy on my own, and your prince isn't that handsome or something either- I mean, he puts up with you and you put up with him, which means either you guys both have low expectations on everything-"

"HEY!" Agatha protested.

"-and also because that'd result in a war and we don't want another war."

"Great, no more wars," Agatha huffed. "Sophie Rules are surely a good way of making peace."

"Cut that out! Anything else?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Not even... don't bring your ugly cat, creepy rat or your mighty golden super sword to school lest someone uses that against you or for spying on Evil?"

Agatha flushed. Sophie'd struck a nerve. "That wasn't my fault, I didn't know Reaper was a spy!"

Sophie just laughed.

 **A/N: Rather short chapter, I know, and I'm really sorry for that. As for Real Life- well, something went wrong with my phone and erased everything I've ever written, which was pretty upsetting. But on the good note- I've been writing (or rewriting) it, and so far, everything's going fine and dandy. I just hope major wipeouts never strike me again- it's really frustrating and dismaying, you know?** **Anyway, thank you for the seemingly endless support. We're so pleased every time we get a new review. They make our worlds go 'round. :)**


	7. Project

**A/N: Merry late Christmas, Readers!**

 **(Chapter written by PlayerPrincessJediFANGIRL and beta'd by blevros. 11 days since the last update... Woah.)**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing y'all recognize is ours.**

Agatha was seven minutes early to Alchemy. She'd planned to slip in secretly, read her textbook, and wait for the teacher. But when she entered, Houndhunt was already sitting at her desk with a stack of leather-bound books and papers on her table and a large coal-colored quill in her hand.

Upon her arrival, Houndhunt lifted her head up and acknowledged Agatha with a slight nod. Agatha muttered a "Good morning, professor" before slipping into her seat.

"I heard Professor Hort was teaching about the Eight Stones the other day," Houndhunt said without looking up.

It took a few seconds until Agatha realized the usually silent professor was talking to her. "Yes, he was."

Houndhunt continued writing, her quill scratching against the parchment. "Good, we'll be learning about them soon."

Agatha looked down and flipped open her book to the page about the Aurum Stone. She'd heard about its history but apparently Alchemy was more about its properties than its history.

The silence was broken when the door opened and Beatrix, Reena and Chaddick burst into the room, chatting. They saw Houndhunt and quickly sat down.

"Looks like we have Houndhunt today," Agatha heard Beatrix whisper.

"She's still wearing that god-awful dress," Reena hissed back.

Agatha frowned. She liked Houndhunt, sort of. Houndhunt was the sort of person whom Agatha would initially be wary of but soon feel comfortable with. Both of them weren't especially pretty- it's what inside that counts- and they favored dark-colored clothing over the pink frills most Evergirls preferred. And from what Agatha saw, Houndhunt wasn't especially fond of people. Agatha could respect that- after all, she'd spent most of her life in isolation, choosing a quiet life on top of a hill of graves than the fascinating, lively one most people wanted. Houndhunt also didn't play favorites, and treated every student equally.

Plus, Agatha thought Houndhunt's dress was more her style than the other teachers'. It looked like something Agatha would wear.

"Oh, Reena, she's also teaching the Nevers. You know how they are- gloomy and dark. It's not her fault. All Nevers have to dress up in black, though I do agree it's definitely not for me."

 _Then maybe you should look outside the window and see what the Nevers are doing to their school,_ Agatha thought dryly, remembering the pink floors and colourful windows in the School for Evil.

About a minute later all the students had arrived and had settled down.

"Good morning." Houndhunt greeted, emotionless.

"Good morning professor."

"First of all- I have an announcement to make. You will start your first alchemy project next week."

Someone 'ooh'ed while another person groaned.

"You will have each one partner-"

Beatrix and Reena immediately inched towards each other.

"-they have already been assigned for you by Professor Dovey."

The girls groaned.

"And to promote unity, you will be pairing up with the Nevers."

The room went silent. There were unhinged jaws and widened eyes.

Beatrix broke the silence. "Pairing up with _Nevers_?" she squawked.

"Yes, pairing up with Nevers."

Tarquin fell out off his seat. Ava gasped.

Oliver stood up. "But they hate us!" he protested.

"Yes, they'll try to ruin our projects!" Giselle chimed in.

Complaints would be heard from every corner. Agatha pressed her lips together.

At one point everyone realized that Houndhunt had not spoken anything and was staring at them. The protests died down almost instantly and everyone shuffled back into their seats.

"Thank you." Houndhunt said coldly. "And here I thought I was teaching people who embraced change and promoted unity, not vengeful hooligans."

Everyone looked down guilty as Houndhunt started down the Evers.

"The first thing you must know about this project is that if you do not cooperate with your partner, you both will be instantly failed in this class and you will _not_ have a chance to enter this classroom ever again. The second is that you and your partner must not only acknowledge each other, you must begin to know them. Their strengths, weaknesses, preferred field of study. You do not need to become friends with them," at that someone heaved a sigh of relief, "but you must know each other if you do want to succeed.

"The following pairs will be working with Professor Dovey as your guide and consultant. If you need any assistance she will help you. Chaddick and Ravan, Beatrix and Leslie, Tarquin and Eliza, Ava and Hunter, you will be the pairs working with Professor Dovey."

There was an audible groan of realization and disappointment from Reena as Houndhunt continued, "And these students will be working with me- Reena and Julianne, Oliver and Cathryn, Giselle and Brendan, and finally, Agatha and Hester. Any questions?"

No one spoke.

"No?" Houndhunt asked. "Good. Now on about the essentials. Take out your writing utensils and we'll begin.

"This project is designed to test your knowledge about the alchemical mandala. In the middle of it all is God-" on the board she drew a circle inside a triangle, and then a star inside the circle. "Then it is power, wisdom and love." She then drew two circles surrounding the triangle. "Father, mother, son." A square. "North, East, South, West. Are you with me?"

The class nodded, everyone drawing a mandala on their own parchment.

Houndhunt continued drawing, squares outside circles, circles outside triangles, and numerous symbols Agatha didn't know the meanings of. There was 'the four elements'- air, earth, water, fire- the 'horoscope'- symbols that looked rather mysterious- the days of the week, seven different kinds of metal- gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper and lead. Houndhunt finished the mandala with a flourish and dropped the chalk back to its original place as the students were struggling to draw the symbols accurately.

When they were finally done, Houndhunt looked up from her book and asked, "Has anyone noticed anything this mandala and your current history topic have in common?"

She didn't look expectant. Not did she looked disappointed when silence greeted her.

"Time for some Latin," she grumbled. She picked up the chalk. "Aurum. Gold. Argentum. Silver." Her scrawl appeared on the blackboard as she spoke. "Ferrum means iron in Latin, and Hydragyrum is mercury. Stannum, Cuprum and Plumbum mean tin, copper and lead respectively. Now can someone just answer me?"

Beatrix raised her hand nervously. "The Seven Stones, Professor."

Houndhunt sniffed. "I'm glad at least one of you remember what you've learnt. Indeed, the Seven Stones have been used in certain projects and experiments and mandala testing, but most have failed. And this year," Houndhunt pulled out a box from under her desk, "the Council has given you, a new class of alchemists, a faithful replica of the Stones, for experimental purposes."

She pressed her glowing fingertip to the lock and the lid opened with a creak. Inside were eight stones of different shapes and colors, and they all seemed to glow- some were shining brightly, while the others had a dim, faint glow like candlelight.

"These might be replicas, but do not take them lightly," Houndhunt warmed. "They are enchanted with a weaker version of the originals' powers. This replica of the Aurum Stone can turn inanimate objects to good, but it takes a comparatively long time to do so. Do _not_ make a fool of yourselves and attempt to test how real they are because I can assure you that even though they aren't real, but they can put you in a coma or worse if not handled properly."

Beside her, Ava went noticeably pale at the mention of 'coma'. Agatha bit her lip. They would be handling dangerous objects. These stones were-like Houndhunt said- not the real ones, but they were still powerful.

"Your assignment for this week is to do research on your assigned stone. Properties, related legends, powers. Chaddick, the Aurum Stone. Beatrix, Argentum. Tarquin, Ferrum and Ava, hydragyrum. Reena, you will be finding information about the Stannum stone, Oliver, the Cuprum stone, Giselle, you are assigned to Plumbum, and Agatha," Houndhunt gave her a stare, "the Philosopher's Stone."

Agatha gulped. They'd learnt barely anything about the stone she was assigned to! The Philosopher's Stone, strongest of them all, the most wanted, and nothing else.

Houndhunt stood up. "I expect you all to bring your research materials to class next week. You will also meet up with your partners here in our next class. You may dismiss."

 _Philosopher's stone. What does the book say about the philosopher's stone?_

 **A/N: Now, I obviously created some characters because most of the Nevers mentioned in the book (Mona, Arachne, Vex, Brone etc) didn't make it to leader, but fear not, my OCs mostly non-speaking roles. Also, their names aren't as intimidating or as evil-ish as the Nevers mentioned in the book as I read ENH and thought, _Hey, there's a James and a Catherine and a Griselda, and Dot and Mona don't sound all that wicked either. So why not something more Good-Evil-neutral?_** **(Obviously to me anything that isn't Rosy Posy or Bloody Mary or something like that is neutral.)**

 **You might also realize that Tarquin and Reena are not Leaders but they still end up in the class for Top 8 (and yes, Ava and Oliver are canon and students in the School for Good, even though they're not mentioned in ENH). That's because 1) we didn't want to make up more OCs, that just confusing and 2) when we started I haven't read ENH yet. Terribly sorry if we've made you confused.**

 **(And: somebody recently asked us, specifically me, if we shipped Nicola/Hort. The answer is no for me, Steph and Cami, as we are enthusiastic Hophie shippers, and 'it's alright' for Art. Again, this story is almost entirely AU, so I doubt if Nicola even exists/ will appear in this one. But thanks for asking, anon!)**

 **Kudos!**


	8. Discoveries

**A/N: First- to all a happy new year, and may the Force be with you always.**

 **This is presumably the shortest chapter of the fic, but exams are coming and I know if I don't study, it'd be game over for my maths.**

 **(Chapter written by PPJF and beta'd by blevros.)**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"The Philosopher's Stone was created by a guy called Nicolas Flamel," Hester said as they descended down the stairs. "He used it to make him and his wife, Perenelle or something, immortal."

"It can turn base metals into gold," Agatha frowned, as they made their way down, fingertips glowing. "What are base metals?"

Hester snorted. "Heck if I know."

They were on prefect duty when Agatha brought up the subject of their upcoming alchemy project, and that the fact neither of them knew much of the Stone. Certain facts, but they were not enough. So they decided to trade some information and look for the rest during the week.

"Okay, so we have another thing to research about: base metals." Agatha added. Hester sighed and drew a piece of parchment from her pocket, and proceeded to scribble on it. "And the other properties?"

"It has to be able to do something else, other than turning metals into gold," Hester deducted.

"Probably. Oh, by the way, did you see what shape and color it was the day Houndhunt showed your class the stones?"

Hester tapped her chin with the pencil. "The philosopher's stone was definitely not the gold one."

"That's Aurum," Agatha pointed out. "In that case, it surely can't be the silver one either. That one should be Argentum."

"Three of them were almost the same color," Hester added. "Silvery grey. Iron should be the shiniest one, mercury the duller one, and tin's the last."

"I thought mercury was part liquid, part solid or something. Like slime, but not gooey."

"Not exactly. There's a scientific term for that- metalloid?- but I have no idea what it's called." Hester answered.

"Do you think we should ask Houndhunt sometime?"

"We should, but not now. We've got copper and lead left."

"Lead should be dark, like coal." Agatha said aloud. "It's the substance inside pencils, isn't it?"

"Yes... The lead one is dark grey, and the blue one is copper?"

Agatha nodded. "Probably. That leaves the red crystalline one."

"I had no idea the stone is red."

"Maybe it's just the replica."

"Maybe. To make it stand out from the others or something, or to let the council distinguish between the stones easier."

"What is the council, anyway?" Agatha inquired as they walked down a hallway.

"They're a group of Science professionals and elites," Hester explained. "They're dedicated to inventing, creating, and testing out things. They have a few departments- alchemy, chemistry, charms, potions-making, to name a few- a couple of decades before they invited Merlin to join the council, but he turned them down."

"Ever and Never working _together_?" Agatha said, surprised.

"They are now, but a year back, they were divided into Good and Evil. Good used light magic, Evil used dark magic, no one is allowed to communicate with the other side, all that prejudice crap. Doesn't Houndhunt talk about that?"

"She doesn't tell us anything. About her, I mean."

Hester raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. I know she doesn't like to talk, but she told us Nevers a little about her. The council, her job, things like that- but I'm not surprised she didn't tell you."

Agatha frowned. "Well, maybe she just doesn't want to."

"Or, experience tells her that you Evers are not trustworthy," Hester laughed.

"Back to the topic."

"Right. What else can the stone do? Maybe we can find it in the book, and then we could ask Houndhunt."

"Do you have any friends and family who might know a little about the Philosopher's Stone?"

Hester gave her a half-smile. "In fact... I might have a family member or two who works for the council."

 **XXXXX**

Agatha scanned the content page and found 'Philosopher's Stone'. Quickly flipping to Page 394, she glanced at the title to double-check that she was at the right page. " _The Philosopher's Stone, also known as the lapis philosophorum, is a legendary alchemical substance that can turn base metals into gold_." She read. " _It is also called the elixir of life, and can be used for rejuvenating and for achieving immortality_." There was an illustration of the stone at the bottom of the page.

" _The Philosopher's Stone was created by Nicolas Flamel, whom gained immortality alongside his wife Perenelle Flammel through his greatest creation._ _"Other than the ability to turn based metals into gold or silver, and healing all forms of illness and prolonging one's life should that person consume a small part of the Philosopher's Stone, it is said that the stone can create perpetually burning lamps and flexible or malleable glass and revive dead plants._

" _Other known properties include transmutation of plain crystals into precious gems and stones and creation of clones or homunculus."_

Agatha dipped her quill into her ink bottle and began to scribble.

 **XXXXX**

"Got this in the post," Hester said, brandishing a piece of paper. "Have a look."

"Who's that from?" Agatha said, unfolding the neatly folded letter.

Hester shrugged. "My cousin, three times removed, from my mom's side. She works at the council."

"Thanks, Hester."

"Don't thank me, thank Rhiannon. Or maybe not. She still holds a grudge against you Evers."

"I thought... you know, people might be over the Ever-Never feud once they know what actually happened, wouldn't they?" Agatha inquired.

Hester chuckled bitterly. "If traditionalism doesn't exist, then yes, you are right. However, my apologies if I seem hypercritical, it does, and we Nevers do not like to lose to Good."

"I know," Agatha nodded. No Ever or Never liked to lose to the other.

"Imagine if your school was always on the losing end of the stick, and for 200 years, if doesn't seem to change," Hester continued. "Every time there's a batch of new Nevers, the old ones have hope."

Hester's tone was brittle and scathing, and Agatha glanced at her shoes, sympathy growing unexpectedly. Sure, her journey as an Ever started off bumpy, with her criticizing Good and Good criticizing her in return, but she did learn to love Good. Their kindness, gallantry, faith.

"Turns out they placed their faith in a wrong place. We lost more than a _thousand_ Nevers just to pay the price. Even though we now know the truth- how it was that old coward's selfishness and greed that brought out losing streak- you can't change the fact that for the past 200 years, we lost. But," Hester shrugged. "it's not important. It's all in the past. Read the letter."

 _Dear Hester,_ the letter said,

 _I'm so glad you decided to ask me for help, because I happen to know something about the Philosopher's Stone._

 _However, please bear in mind that the stone_ doesn't _actually exist. It is but a myth._

 _Anyway-_ _The Philosopher's Stone is Nicolas Flamel's greatest discovery, and for years, centuries even, there have been attempts to find the mysterious alchemical substance. Sadly, the council has recently declared Flamel and his Philosopher's Stone to be a fraud and that, since many people died searching for the stone, that even if the stone exists, the stone is off-limits._

 _I'm sure you can find its properties in your textbook (of course I know your textbook, the council approved it), so we'll not talk about that._

 _Other names for the stone include 'white stone'_ (calculus albus), _'vitriol' (the backronym of_ Vista Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem) _and 'lapis noster'._

 _If you need anything else, do send me another letter._

 _Yours,_

 _Rhiannon_

"'White stone'?" Agatha asked, handing the letter back to Hester. "Wasn't the stone red?"

"It was only a replica, like you said. And I looked 'base metals' up. Apparently it means metals that are inexpensive and common."

"So the philosopher's stone makes the ordinary extraordinary," Agatha grinned.

Hester raised her eyebrows. "Sure, why not?"

 **XXXXX**

Houndhunt's office was located near the dungeons, in a rather secluded and empty corridor in School for Evil. Along the way Agatha had greeted some passing Nevers, and they smiled or waved back. It wasn't curfew yet, and Beatrix and Chaddick were patrolling tonight, so Hester and Agatha had decided to see Houndhunt together after dinner.

As Agatha made her way down the castle (her reflection at the Halfway Bridge didn't stop her from entering the School for Evil, as she was Captain and she really did need to see a teacher) she noticed that Sophie had been busy. The fluorescent light from the lanterns on the ceiling had been charmed to glow every shade of red, from soft pastel pinks to flashy, neon reds.

She went two more floors down and took a left, and immediately spotted Hester waiting by a silver gate. Two suits of armor, polished and shiny, were stationed next to the gate. Both were about two meters tall, looming and menacing.

"Password?" One of them demanded, and Agatha jumped. The voice was eerie and robotic, and Agatha, having never been to a Never teacher's office, was surprised.

"How do we get in?" Agatha asked, still a little bit breathless, from walking down so many flights of stairs, and shocked.

"Password," Hester rummaged through her pocket and found a slip of paper. " _Those who scar me will not scare me,"_ she read.

"Correct," the suit of armor announced, and the gates flung open with a metallic _cling_ to reveal a stone staircase.

"More stairs?" Agatha groaned.

"At least Houndhunt's lights aren't pink," Hester gestured towards the normal flames in the torches. "Come on."

Even with the torches it was freezing. It was rather chilly, and unlike the flashy neon lanterns Sophie had installed almost everywhere in the castle, the staircase towards Houndhunt's office was dim and reminded Agatha of how the castle used to be before Sophie's makeover- dark and spooky and cold.

They reached the end of the staircase and another door greeted them. It was made of dark wood and was unpolished. The handles were brass and, upon closer inspection, were actually shaped like snakes.

"A true Never," Hester mumbled as she knocked.

There was no reply.

"Maybe she's asleep," Agatha suggested.

Hester snorted. "It's only half past eight." She rapped the door again, louder this time.

Hester must've used a certain amount of strength, as the doors swung open.

"What-" she started, shocked.

Agatha glanced at her partner nervously. "Maybe she wants us to go in," she said.

Hester shrugged and stepped inside the room.

 **A/N: Shoutout to xxamllngdnxx for being the one who gave this story its 50th review.**


	9. Findings

**A/N: Well look who rose up from the dead!**

 **(I did really fail Math by the way. In my defence I was experiencing a headache that hurt so much I could sense Voldemort, but I'm just saying.)**

 **A guest asked me a great question in a review: whether I use Google translate or not. The answer is a straight no. Because I've seen enough Google Translate Sings on YouTube to not take Google translate seriously. (You should watch them- they're hilarious, and the singer is really really nice.)**

 **Also, FYI, ever notice why the Latin names are similar to the elements' atomic symbols? That's because they're the shortened version of the elements' Latin names. For instance, plumbum is lead in Latin. Its atomic symbol is Pb. Hydragyrum is Latin for mercury, thus, its atomic symbol is Hg. (Sorry for the nerdy knowledge, I can't help it!)**

 **Thanks for asking, and I hope I've answered your question. But if you do find any problems with the Latin, or my scientific knowledge, feel free to point it out! We do wish our facts are accurate.**

 **The last chapter has been updated because of a problem with the spacing. Apparently I need to press 'enter' twice to start a paragraph?? I am no computer genius, and Microsoft Word isn't really my friend. I apologize for said problems.**

 **Disclaimer: I have nothing.**

Agatha ran.

Her legs hurt. Her chest hurt. Her shoulders hurt from carrying a very unconscious, very heavy Hester, who still maintained an iron grip on the piece of paper from Houndhunt's office. And all the while she was running, her brain yelled, _Oh, crap, Agatha! Now_ run!

She kicked the door open and it hit the wall with a very audible slam. Agatha winced, but kept going. Her back was aching and her legs were protesting, but she bolted down the stairs, occasionally tripping on the cobblestone steps and tumbling down, scraping her knees. She gritted her teeth.

She leapt from the last few steps to the ground, yelping at the impact and the pain of her feet. She winced as she nudged the gate open with her shoulders. Outside, the suits of armor were still immobile, but Agatha, afraid that Houndhunt would see them and find out what happened (even though it wasn't really their fault), brushed past them and sprinted down the hall as fast as she could.

She had never been in this section of the castle before, and she turned corners and passed corridors before a pang hit her: she was very, very lost. Scowling, she tried to backtrack, but it was no use- she didn't remember the route in her desperation and panic.

 _Maybe I should sit here and wait for Beatrix and Chaddick to patrol around here and find us,_ her mind suggested. Agatha huffed and brushed the thought away. This floor was not part of their patrol route. Unless the two Evers suddenly felt an unexplainable urge to check the dungeons, they were not going to patrol this floor.

 _That's why Hansel and Gretel exists,_ her meaner inner side chided, _so that impulsive children like you are warned._ _I'm not impulsive_ , the other part of her mind yelled back immediately.

 _Beats me._

"Shush," Agatha hissed, willing her mind to shut up. She gently laid Hester down on the carpeted floor and stretched her aching muscles. After she popped her knuckles and did some neck exercises (Sophie had taught her some a few months before, "you know, to release some of your tension and stress. Princesses never look good or do much good when they're stressed.") she bent down and checked whether Hester was okay.

Hester had gone noticeably pale, and her demon tattoo was twitching slightly.

She knew that if Hester didn't wake up, she had absolutely no chance of getting back to Good. Hester, a Never at heart, and Class Captain to boot, would know the castle like the back of her palm, wouldn't she? Every room, every shortcut, she would know where they were and get them back to their respective rooms before long.

Agatha patted Hester's shoulders.

No response.

She shoke Hester harder.

Hester still remained unconscious.

Agatha inhaled deeply and yelled, in her loudest voice, "Hey!"

Hester gave a barely audible groan.

"Come on, just wake up," Agatha muttered. "Please wake up-"

"Who's there!"

Agatha jumped.

Footsteps echoed down the hall. Agatha's eyes widened as she recognized the owner of the gruff voice. She scanned the hall for a door that could lead to a room for her to hide in, a broom closet, anything... But there was only a vase sitting on top of a pillar slightly shorter than her.

"Do not move," Houndhunt hissed, her voice growing nearer and nearer.

Agatha wished she had a pool of Wish Fish. They could probably make a room, or a wall that blocked Houndhunt's way, so she wouldn't be able to find them.

Sadly, she had nothing.

She stared at a cobblestone wall intently. _I wish for a room._

No room appeared. The vase, lounging on its pillar, seemed to be staring down at her and mocking her. With no success, she tried again, this time with even more determination. _I wish for a place where we can hide in for a few minutes! A way out!_

Fat lot of good her wish-granting powers were right now. Houndhunt's footsteps seemed to only grow louder.

Frustrated with no plan, Agatha dragged Hester from the middle of the corridor to underneath the pillar so her body leaned against the marble. At least she wouldn't see Hester, Agatha sighed. She inhaled deeply. Maybe Houndhunt would give her a detention and nothing more. A lifetime ban from entering Evil she could manage. But what if she sentenced Agatha to no magic-

 _Squeak._

Agatha froze.

Hester had moved.

Unfortunately, it also caused the pillar to shift.

And topple.

It hit the ground with a loud bang that echoed through the hallway. Agatah stiffened, desperately hoping for a miracle, anything to stop her from seeing them.

But her hopes shattered when a livid Houndhunt turned the corner. Agatha had never seen a teacher so mad- it was only an accident, I didn't mean to break into your office, Agatha defended herself in her mind- Houndhunt's face was contorted, the gash on her face making her seem like a wild beast on the hunt- her fingerglow was a bright, bold crimson, its light blinding-

"And you thought," Houndhunt growled in a raspy voice. "you could _get away_ with breaking into my office, stealing my property, you Ever-"

"No!"

Another burst of red light collided with Houndhunt's. The professor gave a gasp and clutched her arm where the spell hit.

"Who-"

Her eyes widened, her body went stiff, and she toppled, almost lifeless, to the ground.

Agatha stared at the older woman, who was lying on the floor in a heap, as if she were petrified. Slowly, she turned towards the direction where the spell had come from.

Hester had propped herself up with an arm. The other hand was held up and her finger was glowing with a violent red. She looked tired.

"Ready to go?"

XXXXX

It was hard to 'go'. The hallways were winding, with crossroads and corners, like a labyrinth. They stumbled through hallways and randomly selected the way when they encountered crossroads, until even Hester declared themselves to be 'lost'.

Frustrated, she groaned, "Come to think of that, I'd rather have followed Houndhunt just now. At least we'd be on track."

"These corridors all look the same," Agatha said. "Perhaps we should've left some marks or something, so we could turn around and find our way from where we came from."

"About nine thousand turns and not one door in sight." Hester said, tired. "I need to sit down."

She knelt to the floor almost immediately, her back against the wall.

"I'm sorry for dragging you through this," Agatha sighed.

Her fellow Captain nodded. "Same, too. We shouldn't have gone into her blasted office."

"We could blast a hole in the walls. Or we could use a compass spell."

"What good can a compass do if we don't even know where we are?" Hester countered.

"I wish we did."

"Of course."

Agatha slumped against the wall. _Okay, Evil castle, you've got us._ _What should I do? We've been walking for almost an hour and we can't find our way back. This place is a labyrinth._ _I wish for a room, a sanctuary, a safe place._

Her inhaled. _Determination,_ she told herself. _I need determination._ _Magic follows emotion._

 _I just need to wish harder._ Her forehead scrunched up, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

She took a deep breath. Clear your mind.

She let all her frustrations, confusions and wariness weave in and out of her mind.

 _The way._

Her fear of being failed, of being banned from the school, from magic, of Houndhunt's wrath. Her anger of being here in the first place. Her regret.

 _I wish to find the way._

"Agatha? Agatha, are you alright?"

Irrational fears and anger. Unexplainable tiredness.

She opened her eyes and stretched put her right arm.

"What's wrong? Agatha?"

Her right hand was wrapped in a blanket of bright light, a shower of golden illumination, with tiny sparkles dancing around her palm. It was so alike to the cocoon she was wrapped in during her First Year, during the incident with the Wish Fish, but this time, instead of turning the Mogrif make into human, her hand was glowing... As was the wall in front of them.

"Magic follows emotion," Agatha whispered.

"I'm highly disturbed," Hester muttered. "What'd you wish for?"

"A way out." Agatha concentrated even harder. Just get us out of here, she mused, her palm glowing brighter and brighter.

Glittering dust settled on the part if the wall which was glowing. Agatha bit her lip. Is the dust breaking the wall so we could pass through? Is the dust guiding us? She'd used her powers only a few times before, and not once had sparkles appeared while she was channelling her powers.

 _Have faith,_ she told herself.

The glittery dust was forming a large rectangular shape, about three times taller than Agatha (by standards she wasn't very tall) and as wide as two bookshelves put together in the Library of Virtue.

"A door," she mumbled. The dust began to slowly materialize into a wooden door with a brass handle in shape of a graceful swan. "I've created a door."

"This has to be one of the secret chambers or passageways in the castle." Heater chimed in. "There are many."

 _Go open the door._

"Should we go in? We're stuck anyway."

"Why not?"

 _Have faith. Open the door._

XXXXX

The room was twice as big as Houndhunt's study, easily the largest office in the school Agatha had seen. The floors were made of marble, so smooth that Agatha could see her reflection. There were mirrors in the room, each approximately two meters tall. Flowers were displayed in tall vases in numerous alcoves in the room, and the aroma of parchment and flowers drifted in the air.

A portrait of a bearded man hung proudly on a wall, and below the portrait was a sturdy desk of oak and three leather chairs. Papers were spread across the desk messily, a black swan paperweight on top of clumsily stacked papers, and on another pile of paper, a toppled ink pot spilled ink on parchment.

"That man looks familiar," Agatha could hear Hester mutter.

"I don't think I've ever seen him before," she replied.

A white sofa was backed up against the left wall, with a blanket of pearly white fur draped over the leather. Standing grandly by its right were two gigantic bookshelves made of the same material as the desk, lined with leather-bound books, thick and thin, and locked cupboards also made of wood. On its left were canvasses propped up by easels. There were pictures that looked oddly familiar and other artworks that were completely alien to Agatha. The opposite wall was covered entirely by velvet curtains that cascaded from the ceiling to the ground, as lengthy as a waterfall.

The ceiling was painted velvety black and dotted with twinkling stars, and some were joined by lines, forming strange shapes. Constellations, Agatha mused, remembering how Dovey had taught them about these patterns in the sky. Orion... Ursa Major... Cassiopeia...

"Whose office is this?" Agatha voiced her thoughts aloud.

"It doesn't belong to the teachers. This room is too big for faculty offices, and that portrait- I don't recognize him."

"Then... Are we- are we trespassing?"

"We should leave," Hester said carefully. "But we're still lost even if we go out."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Hester went silent and Agatha sighed. Either way they were lost.

Why had she come into this room in the first place?

Agatha snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud banging. She whipped her head towards Hester, frantically kicking at the door with hexes flowing out of her mouth as she pointed her crimson fingerglow at the door.

"The door, it- just- won't- open!" Hester huffed. She shot a spell at the door, and for a second, Agatha expected the door to shatter into splinters. Hester's hex was like a fiery comet striking at the door.

Unfortunately, the spell bounced right off, as if an invisible shield was protecting the door from any type of harm. The hex landed on the floor with a red glow and exploded, leaving a crater on the marble floor.

"Oh no," Agatha murmured.

"It's not the creepiest part."

As Agatha stared at the crater, it began to repair itself, the hole slowly filling up until it looked as if it could revert time.

"This room, it's probably enchanted in some way," Hester continued. "There was dust on the handle outside, but in here it's like this place is brand new."

"It can't be brand new." Agatha pointed out. "Look at this." She led Hester to the oak desk. "Look at this bottle. The ink is dried and look, it's completely soaked into the paper." She brushed her fingers against the bit of parchment stained by ink, which was, indeed, dry. "And this." She walked over to one of the easels. "This is a diagram of the Solar System." The canvas was slathered in black, with colored illustrations of the planets of the Solar System. "But it's wrong, Pluto is a dwarf planet, I know Professor Dovey mentioned it once during Alchemy..."

"I know ink can dry up pretty quickly, but this... Pluto was named a dwarf planet decades ago." Hester's forehead scrunched up.

"Either this is wrong, or..."

Hester gasped. "I know where we are. My mom used to tell stories of past Nevers, hoping I could be like them, you know, become my inspiration... And one of them- how could I forget this?- one of them-"

"One of them..."

"This is his office. Look at these pictures, these are the drawings of the Philosopher's Stone!"

There were indeed pictures drawn by what she assumed was a stick of coal, of the Philosopher's Stone, its unique shape recognizable to Agatha.

"Anyone could've drawn those," Agatha said.

"You don't get it! Look at that portrait- that's who he looks so familiar- we've seen his pictures on our books before. Agatha, this was Nicolas Flamel's office!"

 **A/N: Dun dun dun.**

 **So Nicolas Flamel, poor guy, has now been roped into yet another piece of fiction.**

 **Also, he's a Never for the sake of This plot (just like Merlin is Slytherin in HP. Remember Evil is not just pillaging and destruction. The process of sorting is always controversial- like, is Victor Frankenstein Good or Evil? Is Jean Valjean Good or Evil? Is Darth Vader Good or Evil? Again, there's always some doubts whether one is Good or Evil. Except in Agatha's case, she's a sweetheart haha).**

 **Aaand the inevitable excuses- I am so sorry. I just finished my exams, which were tiring, and then I got swept up the Star Wars craze (ahem Reylo ahem), and THEN came the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics (I love watching sport competitions for some reason). Anyway, I am sorry, and I'll try (TRY) to rearrange my schedule so I can write while I do SW marathons.**

 **Kudos!**


End file.
